The role of an effective teacher has evolved over the last several decades, from someone who transmits information, to someone who utilizes instructional strategies, to someone who facilitates student learning. Presently, in this high-stakes testing era, it is student achievement that is most often associated with teacher effectiveness. By establishing a comprehensive definition of a highly qualified teacher, No Child Left Behind has changed the language used today to discuss teacher qualifications. NCLB highly qualified teacher status does not guarantee a highly effective teacher. An effective teacher must also possess characteristics of a quality teacher. Quality teachers make measurable and substantial differences in student learning. A review of educational research identified five dimensions of effective teaching. These dimensions include Professional Qualities, Efficiency, Compassion, Passion and Context. This study investigates the perceptions of 10 effective elementary teachers who have demonstrated success on test scores with diverse populations of students in third through fifth grade in order to determine the impact of each dimension on student success. Compassion was cited as having the most impact on student success. Findings indicate that the five dimensions of teaching complement each other. The perceptions of the teachers in this study suggest that an effective teacher is able to successfully integrate all five dimensions of teaching into classroom practice.